A possible sleeper in today’s performance car market, an icon boasting rally pedigree, all-wheel drive and turbo performance? Look at a 2015-’21 Subaru WRX–and since we’re counting our pennies, we’re talking about the standard VA-chassis WRX, not the STI.
“Compared to the older WRX, it’s a lot more modern,” notes Dan Hurwitz. He should know. He owns Mach V Motorsports …
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I remember riding in a then-new VA we had as a press loaner a few years ago.
In a good way, it felt like a totally "normal" car–definitely usable as a daily.
Walnut blasting the valves every 40k? Ooof...
I had one of these after I sold my STI. It was def a downgrade in performance but in upgrade in livability and drivability. Better MPGs, smoother driving dynamics, etc. I enjoyed it as a DD despite all the sacrifices you make buying a Subaru in terms of ergonomics, cheap plastics, and pleather lined things like the steering wheel that start flaking. You can never forget the squeaks and rattles from the factory, the throwout bearings that squeak like hell and fail early, and the steep power falloff at 5500rpm. Other than that, fantastic cars. I still borrow my brothers whenever I have a work road trip to save on gas and make parking easier in cities vs. a truck. With a intake, downpipe, and tune it makes like 350whp with the quietness of stock exhaust.
A couple of corrections/additions: The steering system on the WRX did not change to a hydraulic assist for the 2018 model year. It was changed to a newer design electric assist with a control unit that is internal to the EPS motor, rather than the external EPS control unit used on the 2015-17 model years. By contrast, all 2015-2021 WRX STi have hydraulic power steering.
The Performance Package was also available on the 2018-19 WRX too. The difference for those model years is that the brake calipers were not Brembo fixed-caliper type. Rather, the 2018-19 Performance Pack had red-painted versions of the standard sliding calipers with upgraded Jurid pads.
Stueck0514 said:
Walnut blasting the valves every 40k? Ooof...
That's what most shops recommend for any DI vehicle.
I've only ever seen it done once, on a used engine (2.0 Ecoboost) getting readied for installation.
Widgetsltd said:
A couple of corrections/additions: The steering system on the WRX did not change to a hydraulic assist for the 2018 model year. It was changed to a newer design electric assist with a control unit that is internal to the EPS motor, rather than the external EPS control unit used on the 2015-17 model years. By contrast, all 2015-2021 WRX STi have hydraulic power steering.
The Performance Package was also available on the 2018-19 WRX too. The difference for those model years is that the brake calipers were not Brembo fixed-caliper type. Rather, the 2018-19 Performance Pack had red-painted versions of the standard sliding calipers with upgraded Jurid pads.
Thanks! That's right. We have made those corrections to the piece. Thanks once again.
I had a 2015 WRX and it was a good car for me. I got a consistent 8 L/100km with it, no problems in the years I owned it. The first things I did was to swap the lower steering shaft with the STI one and install a shift stop. The stock WRX steering shaft has a rubber joint in it and the STI is solid, makes for much more precise feeling steering. The shift stop, combined with adjusting the factory reverse lockout one takes up a lot of the side to side wiggle in the shifter and gives it a much nicer feel. Together these made the driving experience much nicer. I also did all the bushing inserts I could find, but I can't say how much that really changed anything, but hey, it was cheap.
I did track it a couple times and it handled that quite well. I did run race pads and put a home brew brake duct setup on it using the fog light holes, C6 Z06 ducts hacked up to get past the tires and some hardware store duct riveted into the brake backing plates. I never had any issues with the brakes and if I was serious about tracking it I would have likely upgraded them. Suspension was stiff enough for track use and the stock handling was great. In the wet on Continental ECS I was seeing just over 1G in the corners. For hot weather I'd say upgraded cooling is going to be needed. I only ever upgraded the radiator, but sold it before I got around to installing an oil cooler.
Overall Subaru did a great job of making a fast street car that can handle some motorsports right out of the gate for an affordable price.
